National Assembly Public Investment Committee on Governance and Education has put university Vice Chancellors(VCs) on notice on the account of their non-compliance with the law.
This was after the Committee reviewed a report from the Office of the Auditor General which revealed a number of audit queries including non-compliance with the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal (PPAD) Act, 2015, regarding irregular procurements and use of non-competitive procurement practices.
Others were in relation to stalled/incomplete projects and failure to provide contract and tender documents for audit review.
The reports also revealed a number of unauthorized allowances including irregular payment of sitting allowance and irregular payment of salaries.
According to the report, the institutions displayed ineffective internal audit functions and audit committees, as well as non-compliance with regional distribution in employment, among others.
Moi University audit queries
A summary review of Moi University for instance, showed an irregular banking of student fees into a Welfare Account.
Further, Ksh920,013,000 cash and cash equivalents captured in the consolidated statement of financial position, revealed that Kshs.7,727,190 collected at the university’s Nairobi campus had not been captured while cheques payable to Moi University had been irregularly banked in the Moi University Staff Welfare account.
The Committee noted that failure to provide the supporting documentation, had hampered the auditors’ ability to verify the accuracy, completeness, and authenticity of cash and cash equivalents figure of Ksh920,013,000.
Moreover, a lack of documentation suggested that a potential fraud had been committed by the university.
The Committee further noted that a number of records contained discrepancies and were without justification, reflecting errors, omissions, manipulations and mismanagement.
The Members pointed out that this was a red flag for fraudulent activities, and called for the accounting officer to be held accountable.
Mount Kenya University on spot over KUCCPS placement
Meanwhile, the Vice Chancellor (VC) for Mount Kenya University, Prof. Deogratius Jaganyi was tasked to explain the placement of 27,164 students by KUCCPS over a seven-year period,out of which 24,075 students enrolled.
This had resulted to a variance of 3,089 students from the university which had the highest recorded placement of all private universities.
Further, the university had failed to provide evidence of the capacity declarations made to KUCCPS for the students placed in these universities.
Additionally, records showed that forty-one (41) students in the disbursement records had not been placed by KUCCPS, but had been declared as government-sponsored students.
In addition, an amount of Ksh1,675,263 had been disbursed to the university for the students who are not under the Government- Sponsored Students (GSS) program.
The Special Audit established that a total of Ksh12,080,950 had been disbursed on account of two hundred and ninety-one (291) students who had graduated from the university for the period under review.
More over, a total of Kshs.7,810,917 had been granted to two hundred (200) students in the university, who had either deferred or were on long academic leave.
Prof. Deogratius, in his response gave insights to a number of concerns including the payment of students who had graduated, stating that while most universities run on a two-term semester, MKU runs a trimester hence the continuation of payment after graduation.
